October 15, 2012

Carlisle said Mavs have to get fans into the game

DALLAS -– The Dallas Mavericks have sold out every home game since 2001. But now, with eight new players, they may have to somewhat re-connect with their fans.

Or, as coach Rick Carlisle said after this morning’s shootaround: “Our job here is we’ve got to get our fans into the game. Our play has got to dictate how our crowd gets into it.

“We can’t sit around and wait for them to get us into it. You can’t do business that way here.’’

The Mavs plan on being a fast-breaking team this season, which is a recipe for getting their fans involved in the game. They just hope it’s a recipe for winning.

“Our goal is to be one of the better uptempo teams,’’ Carlisle said. “So we want to push it on a make or a miss.’’

Dallas (1-1) will start pushing the ball up the floor tonight at 7:30 at American Airlines Center when it plays a preseason game against Jeremy Lin and the Houston Rockets. It’s a Rocket squad that has a 2-1 record after Sunday’s 116-107 loss at home to the San Antonio Spurs.

“Houston is going to be an active defensive team,’’ Carlisle said. “If you are haphazard with the ball, they’ll deflect and steal and they’ll run up your turnovers.

“We’re going to just be solid, we’re going to do this hard, we’re going to do things with efficiency. We need to screen hard and make sure we can get guys open, and we’re going to keep turnovers in the low teens.’’